As comedian David Letterman recently noted, Peyton Manning changed the skyline of Indianapolis with a decade of gridiron brilliance.

If the Jets go back far enough, they can find their own example of a transcendent talent who not only elevated the franchise but also changed the face of professional football. When Joe Namath’s celebrated Super Bowl III Guarantee placed the lowly AFL on equal footing with the venerable NFL, teammate George Sauer compared the reaction to the day Copernicus informed earthlings that the sun wasn’t rotating around them.

When Maccagnan first maneuvered up the board, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, it was with designs on Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield.

They (thought) they had no shot at Sam Darnold, who was, of course, their top-rated quarterback, Rapoport explained on NFL Up to the Minute. Then you fast forward a couple weeks after that to the draft. Baker Mayfield goes No. 1, and the Jets really couldn’t believe that the guy they wanted all along — the guy they had no chance of getting — actually just showed up right in their draft spot.

They are over the moon happy with him. They do believe he is their franchise quarterback.